Boots Electric
Manantler Craft Brewing

650 mL bottle acquired in a trade - thanks Chris! Served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy, unfiltered golden-orange hue, producing one finger of foamy white head that steadily reduces in volume over the next couple of minutes. The eventual remnants include a wide collar of froth and some bubbly patches on the surface, as well as a nice ring of lace. Enticing notes of tropical fruit and citrus on the nose - I am getting mostly grapefruit, orange and nectarine, with hints of pineapple, pine resin and strawberry.

A well-crafted, hop-forward, classic-style West Coast IPA. The malt backing tastes a little grainy, with subtle caramel sweetness that underlies the entirety of the flavour profile. Citrusy flavours of grapefruit rind and orange pith crop up by mid-sip, as do hints of pineapple and nectarine. This is followed by an assertively hoppy finish that features big notes of pine resin; ends with an earthy, floral bitterness that lingers on into the aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with restrained carbonation levels that result in a fairly soft, smooth texture and slick feel on the palate. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Final Grade: 3.87, a solid B+. Boots Electric IPA is the first Manantler product I've sampled, and the craftsmanship on display here has me excited to try more of their beers. While this isn't necessarily one of the most impressive IPAs I've had in recent memory - and the piney, citrusy hop flavours are certainly nothing that this province's beer geeks haven't seen before - it's still a tasty bugger that I am struggling to nitpick. Good stuff; I'd drink it again.